Gene expression profiling of substantia nigra dopamine neurons: further insights into Parkinson's disease pathology.

ABSTRACT: Parkinson's disease is caused by a progressive loss of the midbrain dopamine (DA) neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta. Although the main cause of Parkinson's disease remains unknown, there is increasing evidence that it is a complex disorder caused by a combination of genetic and environmental factors, which affect key signalling pathways in substantia nigra DA neurons. Insights into pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease stem from in vitro and in vivo models and from postmortem analyses. Recent technological developments have added a new dimension to this research by determining gene expression profiles using high throughput microarray assays. However, many of the studies reported to date were based on whole midbrain dissections, which included cells other than DA neurons. Here, we

SUBMITTER: Simunovic F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2724914 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature